South Korea may begin commercial whaling operations
If the International Whaling Commission grants Japan limited rights to coastal whaling in exchange for a scaling down of its antarctic whaling operations, South Korea will also want a piece of the action, according to Reuters:
“This would open the floodgates for commercial whaling,” the WSPA marine mammal programme manager told Reuters in Rome.
Nicolas Entrup, spokesman for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS), said minke whales in Korean waters already faced extinction because of “by-catching” — when whales are accidentally caught in fishing nets, then sold for eating — and would face an accelerated threat if Korea resumes whaling.
“We should be closing the loopholes that permit whaling rather than creating new loopholes,” Entrup told Reuters.
Korean whaling helped supply the Japanese market for much of the 20th century, especially during Japanese occupation. It had a “scientific” catch of about 69 whales in 1986 but has since mostly abided by the global moratorium declared that year.
[via ROK Drop]
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